Fractured
by Fic Fairy
Summary: Life in The West Wing falls apart when the First Lady is kidnapped, and continues to spiral out of control after her return. Ensemble piece looking at how a crisis for the First Couple effects the team. Begins during S5. C7 up! Sorry for lengthy break!
1. Chapter 1

**Bethesda Naval Hospital**

**14****th**** February 2005**

"I want to see my wife."

For the nurse on the nurses station, it was a request that, ordinarily, she'd have been powerless to refuse, because the frantic husband in front of her wasn't just any frantic husband, but her Commander in Chief. Ordinarily she'd have been duty bound to comply with his wishes.

But not today. Today was different. Today was – definitely no pun intended – unprecedented.

She stepped forward, clearing her throat nervously as she stopped him in his tracks, "Mr President, I'm afraid that's not possible. Mrs Bartlet's doctors have placed her under very strict conditions. She's currently in isolation."

He barged her out of the way then, striding down the corridor, in search of his wife. She didn't blame him, she understood his reasons, but all the same she felt it would have been to his benefit to heed her warnings.

She made to follow him, but before she could she felt a hand on her arm, and when she turned she found herself face to face with the President's Chief of Staff, a familiar face from her TV screen, who, much like the President himself was looking incredibly, yet understandably, tired, drained and concerned.

If nothing else, however, the other woman was calmer, although just as focused on wanting answers, "I need to know what I'm dealing with here." She said; her tone polite, yet firm, "He," she emphasized the word, "needs to know what he's dealing with."

The nurse nodded, "Of course, come with me."

XXX

And that – although CJ would never have believed things could get any worse before that moment – was where the nightmare truly began. As she sat in the claustrophobically small relative's room, listening intently to what the nurse had to tell her, she felt like the world was crashing down around her ears; around all their ears. Things would never be the same again, not now, they couldn't be.

When the nurse was done she excused herself, and walked numbly to the isolation ward where the First Lady was being held, and where she knew the President would need every ounce of support she could give him.

He was stood at the window, his forehead resting on the glass, watching, and trying to make sense of, what was unfolding on the other side.

CJ stood beside him, taking it in herself. The First Lady, his wife and her friend, was huddled on the floor in the far corner of the room, her pose fetal, right down to the thumb that was jammed into her mouth. She was wearing a hospital gown, designed to preserve her modesty, but even that couldn't hide the array of bruises that covered her body. She was rocking, violently, and if she recognised their presence, her eyes gave no indicator of it.

CJ swallowed hard, glancing at The President. The scene, from the instant she set eyes on it, was attacking her from the inside, almost strangling her, making her feel physically sick, so god only knows what it was doing to him.

"Sir," she said gently, reaching out to lay her hand on his shoulders, "She's been isolated for her own sake. The presence of other people was distressing her." She meant it as a reassurance – the isolation ward in normal circumstances would have been used in cases of highly infectious diseases or for those exposed to biological warfare or radiation – but in actual fact, she knew it would be of little comfort. He was hardly likely to start looking at the bright side given the condition his wife was in.

For a long time, he said nothing, just carried on staring into the other room as he digested the information, leaving her to do the same. It was only when Abbey moved on from the rocking, to repeatedly pulling at her own hair, almost ripping it from its roots; that he turned to her, his eyes full of fear.

"For crying out loud Claudia Jean, what has he done to my Abigail? What the hell has he done to my wife?"

XXX


	2. Chapter 2

**One Day Earlier**

There were advantages to having a secret service detail, Abbey thought to herself, as she struggled only momentarily with the corset of her dress before moving to the door of her room and poking her head out of it.

"Brianna," she motioned to her lead agent, a tall slender woman with a mass of pre-Raphaelite curls, who had, over time, become her friend, "could you?" she turned, indicating the loose ribbon work on the back of her gown. The other woman grinned, "Me thinks FLOTUS is abusing her power a little."

Abbey grinned, glancing along the hallway to where a handsome stranger was stood, watching the two of them with some interest, "And I think Brianna is being a little sassy to show off for the good looking man. Who is he anyway?" She asked, and then, spying a Secret Service pin on his jacket, added, "Do I have a new shadow?"

Brianna nodded, "That's Ed. He started today."

"Well clearly he started today otherwise I'd have seen him before." Abbey gave the new boy a perky little wave then turned her attention back to matters sartorial, "Are you going to do me up or am I going to have to dine with my husband half naked?"

The agent positioned the First Lady in front of her and then set to work on the ribbons, "I'm sure the President wouldn't complain."

Abbey sighed, suddenly a little downhearted, "I'm not so sure he'd even notice at the moment."

Brianna smiled a wry smile. As one of the First Lady's trusted confidantes she'd heard her complain about her husband so many times that it didn't phase her any more, and she'd become adept at coming up with the right response. In this case, it was clear what was needed.

"You look stunning." She tied a neat bow at the base of Abbey's back and then turned her round to look at her, "I fail to see how he could miss you tonight."

X X X

"Check."

"You're getting pretty good at this." Jed told CJ as he surveyed the board, looking for a way to save his King from her grasp, then smiling as he found it and slid one of his pieces deftly across the board, "But not good enough." He grinned, as he reversed the situation, "Check."

"Time 'check' perchance?" came a voice from behind them. The voice of an utterly pissed off sounding Abbey, who, having waited in the dining room in the residence for 15 minutes after the agreed time, had finally made the trip to The Oval Office in search of her husband, "I said dinner was at 8."

Jed, used to being in his wife's bad books, didn't even bother to look up from the game, "Yes darling, you said dinner was at 8. You always say dinner is at 8 and then when I don't show up dinner comes down to me on a little tray and I get on with running the country. I fail to see," he added, "why today should be any different?"

He failed to see of course because his focus was, in its entirety, completely on the chessboard, and so, it was CJ, glancing in Abbey's direction to see what her reaction might be that saw first why today was 'different'.

"Sir…" she said softly, indicating both with eyes and tone that he should turn his attention to his wife.

He did so, and for a moment his breath was taken away as he drank in the vision in front of him. Abbey's very sexy, scarlet colored dress revealed the figure of a woman half her age, although, when he finally lifted his eyes to meet hers he was greeted by nothing other than anger and contempt.

He looked at her sheepishly, "Did we have a date? I thought Valentines Day was tomorrow night?"

Abbey stalked into the room, her eyes flashing wildly, "Valentines Day IS tomorrow night. But since you're flying to the other side of the world tomorrow morning I thought I'd bring it forward. But," she glared at him, less angry wife, more petulant teenager, "if you'd rather be playing chess than wining and dining me then screw you." And with that, she turned on heel and stormed out of the room again in whirl of red chiffon and sequins.

As she left, Jed sighed, "In the dog house again."

"Maybe you should go and explain." CJ said hesitantly, still not entirely sure how appropriate it was to get involved where the First Marriage was concerned. She glanced at her watch, "We've got 10 minutes until we meet with the Joint Chiefs, that's time enough to explain the situation to her."

He laughed sardonically, "I wouldn't get a word in for the first twenty Claudia Jean, not when she's in a mood like this. I'll talk to her afterwards. We'll get this nailed and then she can have my ear to chew for the rest of the evening."

X X X

"Brianna!" Abbey barked as she emerged from The Oval Office, still incandescent, "I want 20 Lucky Strikes and a car out the front in the next 10 minutes. We're going out."

Ed, who was stood at Brianna's side, watched stunned as the First Lady stalked across the lawn back to the residence, but to his surprise his colleague seemed nonplussed.

"You'll get used to it." She said, by way of an explanation, "It happens a lot."

Ed looked at her questioningly, "But, she said she wanted cigarettes. Isn't she…"

"An MD?" Brianna finished for him, nodding her head, "Oh yes, but she tends to forget that on nights like these." She reached into her pocket, pulling out her wallet and rifling through it before handing him a twenty. "You organize the smokes, I'll sort the car. See you out front in 5."

With her junior colleague sent up on his way, Brianna headed back to the residence herself, tapping cautiously on the door to the presidential bedroom and waiting to be invited inside. When she did so, she found Abbey, still steaming and struggling with the dress that she'd helped her into such a short time before.

Wordlessly, she moved up behind her and undid the bow before heading over to Abbey's dressing room.

"Jeans?" She asked, already reaching for a low slung pair when Abbey appeared in the doorway and nodded. She tossed them in her direction, and then headed over to where the T-shirts were kept, selecting one at random and passing those to the other woman too. She watched silently as she changed and then handed over a leather jacket – some things just went without saying – and then asked one final question – because some things didn't, "What color hair?"

Abbey paused, breaking off from pulling the jacket on to think momentarily, because reaching her decision, "Dirty blonde." She murmured, "I'm feeling both blonde and dirty tonight, and if his nibs doesn't want to take advantage of that then we'll look elsewhere."

Had she thought for a second that her charge was serious, Brianna would have been having kittens – nothing spelt 'security breach' like the idea of the First Lady pulling a bit of rough in a bar – but as it stood, with her knowing that Abbey would never cheat on her President husband, her only reaction was to go over to a small collection of wigs that hung in one corner of the room and select one that best fitted the description.

As Abbey took it from her and sat down at her dressing table to put it on, their eyes met in the mirror and finally, her grimace turned into a wry smile, "Bri?" She said, fiddling with the wig as she did so, "Why on earth do you put up with me?"

Brianna smiled back at her, "Because this the best gig on the planet. I get to play dress up with the most famous woman in the world. Why on earth would I want to do anything else?"

X X X


	3. Chapter 3

In spite of his more experienced colleague's reassurances to the contrary, Ed had serious misgivings about their trip, particularly when the now disguised First Lady announced where they were headed as he handed her the cigarettes she'd requested. To that end, as Abbey climbed into the car, he held Brianna back, looking at her quizzically.

"Is this a good idea? I mean really?"

Brianna shrugged, "You've seen the mood she's in. Do you want to tell her no?"

He stared at her incredulously for a second – unable to believe that she'd put FLOTUS at risk just to avoid riling her further, before she smiled and he realized she was joking.

"Look," she said, reassuringly, "if she was doing this all night, every night, we'd have a problem but it's a handful of nights a year, and it never lasts that long." She lowered her voice, not wanting Abbey to overhear what followed, "You'll see for yourself. She'll smoke half a packet of Luckies in the car, knock back a couple JD's when we get to the bar and then realize the two don't mix. She'll be home in bed by 10, I promise you."

Ed sighed, "Ok, ok, you know best! I just thought with the way things are,"

Brianna shot him a warning look, cutting him dead before he could get any further, "We don't discuss that. Not in her earshot. You know our orders."

"Yeah," he snapped back, "to protect and serve, but I don't understand how we're meant to do that if we're just pandering to her every whim."

If his attitude angered Brianna she didn't let it show, but neither did she let it slide, reminding him, politely, of their places in the pecking order, "This is my gig." She said firmly, "And you said it yourself, I DO know best. So please, just follow my lead."

Before he could respond, Abbey reappeared from the car, cigarette in hand, and a discontented look on her face, "Are you lovebirds going to stand there staring into each others eyes all night, or are we going to make a move? There's a Jack Daniels waiting on the bar with my name on it."

X X X

Thirty minutes later Brianna and Ed were sat in booth, in a drinking establishment best, and indeed probably only described as seedy, watching their charge as she sat moodily at the bar, drink in hand.

"How long have you been on her detail?" Ed asked, making small talk although his gaze, and attention, were firmly on Abbey.

"Since day one." Brianna replied, "It wasn't easy at first, she's a formidable lady," she added with a smile, remembering the way she and Abbey had continually locked horns in the early days, with Abbey resisting her protection every step of the way, "but I think we have a good rapport now."

Ed raised his eyes questioningly, "You don't think that compromises her level of protection; you having a personal relationship with her?"

Although she'd let his earlier criticism go, writing it off as the comments of an over eager new boy, second time round she was less accepting, banging her hand on the table angrily, "For Gods sake, I can read her moods, I'm not screwing her. What's your problem Ed? You're here to support this team, not appraise it."

Ed sighed, "My problem is that she's a high profile target, and one who is at serious risk right now…"

"I KNOW that." Brianna snapped, "I'm privy to the same information that you are." And, she thought, although she didn't say it, a lot more besides; as lead agent she was always going to know more than her foot soldiers, "I've seen the filth Ed. I know what sick bastards are out there, but you can't wrap Abbey in cotton wool. You have to let her be her own person. If I didn't she wouldn't trust me, and she has to be able to do that. And," she added, more than a little snippily, "so do you if we're going to work together."

The other agent shut up then, sensing he'd pushed his more senior colleague far enough, and not wanting to lose his prestigious post within 24 hours of landing it. Instead they sat in silence, both of their attentions completely fixed on the First Lady. It seemed safer that way.

The silence only came to an end as Abbey finished her second drink and got to her feet, and Brianna did likewise, a knowing smile on her face. She turned to Ed, "We'll be right back… the most glamorous part of my job is coming up." She caught his questioning glance and so explained, answering with a feigned grimace, "Holding back the Presidential Ponytail…"

X X X

"I do like it when a crisis gets averted." Jed said to CJ as he poured two measures of Scotch when they arrived back in The Oval Office after their meeting with the Joint Chiefs, "There's nothing better than a happy ending."

CJ smiled, taking one of the drinks from him, "Shouldn't your happy ending involve a certain lady in red?"

He chuckled, "Lady seeing red right now I suspect." He clinked his glass against hers, "I'll go in a minute. I need some Dutch courage first. Abigail can be very vicious when she wants to be Claudia Jean, let me tell you."

CJ didn't need telling. She loved the First Lady dearly; she was one of the true female friends she had, but all the same she knew she had a sharp tongue, which she'd been on the receiving end of more than once, albeit in a professional capacity. She didn't get chance to comment however, before there was a knock at the door and Ron Butterfield entered the room. It took mere seconds for both the President and CJ to realize that something was wrong, that something had happened. Ron's expression and general demeanor gave it away without him needing to say a word. At her side CJ felt her boss stiffen and then, heard him almost reluctantly ask 'the question'.

"What is it? One of my girls?" He didn't give Ron chance to respond before plowing on, "Is it Zoey? Elizabeth? Ellie?"

Ron shook his head, "No Sir." He opened his mouth to speak again, but Jed quickly cut him dead.

"Then what the hell is it? The grandchildren? Because it can't be Abbey. Abbey's  
upstairs." He sounded so sure of himself, but yet as Ron said nothing, he faltered, the color draining from his face as he reached out for the edge of his desk, clutching it tightly to keep himself upright.

"She is upstairs, isn't she?"

Seeing the President swaying slightly, and also knowing from the look in Ron's eyes what his answer was going to be, CJ grasped his arm, helping him into his seat as the Head of his detail confirmed what they both already suspected.

"It is the First Lady Sir. She left the building a short while ago with a full detail, but her protection was compromised. One agent is dead, another badly injured."

"And Abbey?" It was CJ who asked the question, the President either unable or unwilling to, his head already in his hands, as he imagined with horror, all the nightmare scenarios that could currently be unfolding for his wife.

Ron sighed, "Miss Cregg, Mr President, we're doing everything we can to trace her, but this time I have no choice but to tell you, that we don't know the First Lady's location at this time. I'm sorry."

X X X

It was only after Ron had left the room that Jed looked up at CJ, looking like a man who had aged years in minutes. She'd never seen him look less like a Commander in Chief, and although she understood the reasons why, it terrified her. She quickly realized though, that it wasn't the time for her to be 'terrified' – she was his Chief of Staff, and he needed her to be the strong one at that moment.

"You should call the girls." She said softly, thinking of the First Couple's three daughters, each of whom would be distraught in their own way. "I'll arrange for them to be flown in." she added, knowing that the best thing for all of them right now was to be together. He nodded at her numbly, but made no move for the phone so she moved to the door, opening it and poking her head outside,

"Deborah?" She addressed the President's Executive Assistant, feeling somewhat in a daze herself, "Could you get Elizabeth on the line please?" She moved back inside the room, returning to the President's side, "Sir, I need to speak to the staff. I'll be back as soon as you've made the calls. Ok?"

Again he nodded, but said nothing, only speaking once she reached the door again.

"This is my fault."

"No Sir. It isn't." CJ had been expecting to hear the words from the moment they'd realized Abbey was gone. She'd witnessed the couple's earlier argument and knew instantly that he would blame himself for the fact his wife had left the White House. It was her job, she knew, to reassure him to the contrary, he'd never hold it together otherwise. And yet when she spoke, she was all too aware of how weak her response was.

He knew it too. "If I'd remembered our date…"

She cut him dead, "If Abbey had been more implicit about her plans. If she'd not gone out as a result. If her detail had done their job properly. You can't play the 'what if' game Mr President. We just have to wait on whatever demands are going to come our way. Because they will come, and we will get her back." She was relieved by the conviction in her own voice, knowing it would be needed if she was going to convince even herself, let alone him that what she was saying was true, but her relief was only temporary, because seconds later, he shook his head.

"There won't be demands Claudia Jean."

She opened her mouth to question how he could possibly know that, but before she could his phone bleeped and Deborah announced that Elizabeth was on the line. He looked at her again, "I need to take this. We'll talk shortly."

We'll. Talk. Shortly.

Never, CJ thought to herself, had three words ever sounded so ominous.

X X X


	4. Chapter 4

With the President's words of foreboding ringing in her ears, CJ went off in search of her closest colleagues. However, she'd barely even left the Oval Office when they – Toby, Charlie, Josh and Annabeth – found her.

She didn't need to ask them if they knew. The horror written all over each of their faces was confirmation enough. Even the ever perky Annabeth was clearly stricken.

"The networks have it?" she asked shakily, already imagining the kind of press coverage that would be unleashed in a scenario involving the potential abduction, screw it, the actual abduction, of the First Lady.

Toby nodded, "Networks going insane. Press corp. clamouring like children for candy. Is it true?"

"Yes." CJ replied solemnly, "Its true."

There was a moment of silence as the news began to sink in for all of them, and then, hesitantly, Annabeth spoke, "Where is she?"

At her question, Toby rolled his eyes impatiently, "Annabeth, if she knew the answer to that particular brainteaser, do you think CJ would look like she's about to burst into tears at any minute." He gave her no time or right to reply before moving to CJ's side, putting his arm around her shoulder, "We need Leo."

CJ shook her head obstinately, pushing him away, blinking back tears that she knew she couldn't allow to fall, "No. I'm his Chief of Staff now. I can handle this."

"I know." Toby replied softly, "I know you can handle this. And I know you're his Chief of Staff, but Leo's his oldest friend. I've said it once, I'll say it again, and this time you won't argue. We need Leo."

Knowing Toby was right CJ slowly nodded, glancing over at Josh, checking that he agreed. He nodded too, in complete agreement, "I'll call him."

CJ sighed, "Thanks, right." She turned her attention to Charlie, "At least until the girls arrive, I'm putting you with him, back at your old desk. Anything he needs, you deal with." Her eyes met his, "Like old times yeah?" she added, although they both knew that the next few hours were going to be nothing like 'old times'. None of them had ever experienced anything like this before. Oh, the First Lady had disappeared on more than one occasion; most notably after the President's announcement that he'd run for a second term – but that had been of her own volition. And they'd always known where she was.

Not the same at all.

"Is anyone claiming responsibility?" Annabeth asked, breaking into her thoughts and sounding even more hesitant than she had done before, understandably CJ thought in light of the pasting Toby had given her.

She shook her head, "No. I think the President has something to tell me, some information, but he wanted to get onto the girls first." She took a deep breath, as she found herself imagining again how the conversations with the girls might go, but then tried to push the thoughts out of her mind. There was no way she could fall apart. Not now. It HAD to be business as a usual. She looked at Toby, "Can you two cope? Or do you want me out there?" She knew it was an insensitive question – suggesting she was more capable than the two of them - but she also knew she had to ask it. Once a Press Secretary, always a Press Secretary.

"We can cope." Toby responded, leaving her a little disappointed. She knew she was Chief of Staff and first and foremost needed to be just that, but a little bit of her would have been happier back behind the podium. It would make all this easier. She'd have more of an idea of what to do.

Still, that wasn't her role any more.

But all the same...

"Refer questions about the kidnapping to Secret Service, FBI and NSA. Only confirm what they already know. And give them the standard response regarding the President – touched by the concern of the nation, but requests privacy for the family as this difficult time, yadda yadda yadda. You know the drill." She added quietly, because she knew that between them Toby and Annabeth were a perfectly capable team.

Toby reached out, squeezing her hand, "We know the drill."

CJ smiled weakly, "Well, if you need me, I'll be with him. I'll be with the President."

X X X

"Are you here to say I told you so?" Brianna said, as Ed walked into the cubicle where she was lying on a hospital trolley.

He shook his head, taken aback by how broken she sounded, not to mention the bruises that covered her neck. "No." He replied and moved to her side to sit beside her, "I wanted to know how you were."

Her hand went up automatically to the back of her head, where her curls were matted with her own blood, "My head hurts and," she moved her hand to the bruises on her neck, "here too, of course but mostly," to her horror she started to cry, in a sudden outpouring of emotion, "it hurts inside" the tears rolled down her cheeks, coming thick and fast, "I let him take Abbey."

Ed reached for her hand, taking it in his. For all they'd disagreed in the short time they'd known each other, he wouldn't have wished what she was going through on any agent – to lose a protectee would be horrific under any circumstances, and he knew it could only be worse for her because she was so close to her charge.

"It wasn't your fault." He said, wanting to reassure her. "He'd taken out the outside agent, you were the second line of defence."

"Yes it was!" She croaked, her voice barely getting above a whisper, although she was clearly trying to shout, "He managed to overpower me because I had my back to the door because I was holding her hair while she was sick. Not our fucking remit Ed, not by a long shot."

He opened his mouth to speak, again wanting to reassure her, but then closed it again knowing there was nothing he could say, nothing of comfort anyway. Because she was right about that part, she should never have had her back to the door.

Seeing that he wasn't going to argue with her, Brianna continued, as the tears kept coming, "And I wasn't the second line of defence. I was the first. I was barely a metre from her. And I let him take her. You can't make this better Ed. Face it, I was wrong and you were right." She looked up at him, tears still snaking down her cheeks, "Was it him? Was it that sick bastard?"

He took a deep breath and then slowly nodded, hesitantly, knowing he was confirming her worst nightmare – all their worst nightmares really, "Yeah, I'm sorry, we think it was..."

X X X

When CJ returned to the Oval Office, it was to find the President sat at his desk, completely frozen, like a statue, staring into space. She stood at the door awkwardly, and then cleared her throat to get his attention.

He turned to face her, his features still ashen, and his eyes now bloodshot. He'd obviously been crying in her absence. "How are they?" she asked cautiously, almost afraid of the answer.

He shrugged, "Elizabeth and Ellie are in shock. They barely spoke. But Zoey," his voice cracked dangerously, "Zoey is," he closed his eyes, trying to shut out the memory, "she's hysterical. Oh God Claudia Jean," he reopened his eyes and she could see the desperation in them, "what the hell have I done?"

She moved to his side, "Sir, this isn't your fault. It really isn't. If not tonight," she added, in allusion to the argument he and Abbey had had, "then it would have been some other night. Really. You can't blame yourself."

"Oh can't I?" He reached for one of the drawers of his desk, pulling it open and taking out a thick file which he then pushed into her hands, "You might think a little differently once you've seen this."

Taking it from him, she went and sat down before opening it and beginning to look through it. There were letters, a whole stack of them, some dating back to before he'd even been in office, but they all had the same theme. The same message.

She glanced up at him, an every growing sense of dread mounting inside her, "Abbey has a stalker."

"Abbey has a huge number of stalkers." He got to his feet, began pacing the office, his frustration and anxiety manifesting itself in a nervous energy. "She has done ever since my career turned her into a public figure. I mean why wouldn't she? Look at her," he snatched a framed photograph of his wife up from his desk and forced it into her hands, "she's stunning, and the whole world knows it."

It was true, CJ didn't have to look at the photo to know that. The First Lady was beautiful, you didn't have to know her to think so; it was blatently obvious from every TV appearance and news clipping. It figured therefore that she might be the focus of negative or obsessive attention, almost went without saying in fact.

"Ok," she corrected her earlier statement, "so Abbey has stalkers, but," she placed the photo to one side and returned to leafing through the file, "the handwriting in these letters, its the same. These letters are all from one man."

The President nodded, "Yes. Its not just the handwriting. Each letter came with a rose." He looked for one second like he was going to be physically sick, "This fanatical bastard calls my gorgeous girl 'his'", he almost spat the word, "rose."

CJ felt her head start to spin. Working in the White House her life oft felt like a scene from a Hollywood movie, but never more so than now. Suddenly the whole situation was like every bad thriller she'd ever seen. Before she could get her head together though, he was taking the file from her and turning it to a particular letter before thrusting it back at her,

"This one, the most recent one, was found on the South Portico last week. With a dozen red roses. He breached White House security Claudia Jean. And just read what he had to say."

Her head still reeling from the latest revelation CJ started to read it but barely got past the first paragraph when she had to look away, clasping her hand to her mouth, her stomach churning.

The most recent letter, a million miles from the first few she'd read – from the beginning, all hearts flowers and purple prose – was sexually , full of perverse threats of sexual acts and violence. There was still 'love' too, but it was so warped, so twisted that it did nothing to comfort her, instead just making her all the more scared for Abbey. God knows what the other woman was going through at that moment if the man behind the letters, was the man who was holding her.

She looked up at the President, "How do we know its him?" she asked shakily, wanting a get out clauses, longing to believe someone else was responsible.

He leant over, indicating the last paragraph of the letter, and urging her to look at it. She did so, and instantly two words jumped out at her...

"Valentines Day."

She ran her eyes back, taking in the full sentence, feeling the bile rise in her throat. There was no doubting now it now, the President was right. There'd be no contact, no deal to be done.

He already had what he wanted.

Abbey.

X X X


	5. Chapter 5

She just wanted him to stop.

She wanted it all to stop. She wanted to be at home, with Jed, safe in his arms, their fight; their stupid, ridiculous, pointless fight, long forgotten. She wanted him to hold her, and kiss her and tell her it was all OK. That she would be OK.

But it wasn't OK. It was never going to be OK again. And neither was she.

The pain was excruciating, ripping through her entire body, torturing her in different ways, just like he was. The dull ache in her arms and legs; their protest at being bound, the throbbing of a cheek bone doubtlessly broken after an encounter with his fist, her flesh stinging from where he'd pinched and slapped and bitten it, and then... and then... her stomach and its nonstop cramping, a vicious reminder of what he'd done to her. The way he'd forced his way inside her, the way he'd rap-

No. She cut her thoughts dead. Refused to so much as think the word. She couldn't, not at that moment. Not if she was going to survive. Not if she was going to get home to Jed.

Her darling Jed.

The tears started to roll then. For the first time in fact. At first, when she'd come round initially, she'd been too out of it to cry. Hadn't known what planet she was on, or what day it was. She hadn't even understood why it was dark, why she couldn't see. It was only when she felt him on top of her, and heard the filth tumbling from his lips that the pieces fell in to place for her.

Then she refused to cry. Looking back she had no idea how she did it, but she did. It was control she supposed. Jed always teased her about wanting to be 'the dominant one' – no mean feat when your husband was the President of the United Status, and she'd never been less in charge in her life than she had been at that moment; as he dragged her up, forcing her into positions that were impossible to get into whilst restrained and yet that she had to, to stop him from hurting her more. He was in charge, and yet, even as he... screwed her – better that word than the other one – she felt that if she didn't cry, she kept some small vestiges of control, not to mention dignity.

But now he'd broken her, and the irony didn't escape her. She'd held it together as he'd slammed her head against the headboard, as he'd brutalized her, as he'd abused her sexually, physically, mentally and verbally, calling her names that no one else ever had, she'd been so strong.

And then he'd broken her with a kiss.

It wasn't the first time he'd kissed her. But it wasn't like the others, it wasn't rough, it hadn't made her gag, it was completely different in every single way.

It had come out of nowhere. One minute he'd rolled off of her and the next...

He nuzzled her neck, brushed his lips so softly against hers, something Jed had done a thousand times; something that used to feel so romantic, a gesture of love that felt so good.

And now it felt so bad.

He shouldn't be kissing her that way.

She'd wondered at first if there were two of them. A good 'cop' and a bad one. It was the only explanation she could see for the sudden change; the striking contrast between the brutality and the gentleness. But as he parted her lips with his tongue making the kiss more intimate she realized from his taste that there was but one of them.

He was a Jekyll and Hyde.

A monster that wanted to hurt her.  
A man that wanted to love her.

And as he played with her hair, gently reassuring her, she decided she didn't know which was worse.

X X X

"Why didn't you tell me?" CJ asked numbly. Five minutes had passed. The offending file was lying on the table in front of her, and she was cradling a scotch in her hands, trying to avoid the gaze of Abbey, whose photo was still on the sofa next to her, and the expression in whose eyes suddenly seemed a whole lot more haunted, although she suspected that was her imagination playing tricks on her. "You should have told me. I should have known."

The President looked away, but she caught the guilt in his eyes before he did so. He said nothing, but it was blatantly obvious that he knew she was right.

"I should have known." She said again. "You should have told me on day one."

"I couldn't." He murmured, getting to his feet and crossing the room to stare out of the window, leaving her wondering why exactly he hadn't felt able to confide in her. She was his Chief of Staff, his right hand woman, and yet he kept something, something so utterly significant from her.

She sipped her drink, felt the liquor burn her throat, "With respect Sir, may I ask why?"

There was a long silence and then finally he turned to face her again, "You're a woman. You'd have made me tell Abbey."

There was a grain of truth in his answer, she knew that. And actually, she didn't see the issue with it. Telling Abbey would have made her more aware of her own personal safety. She might then have seen fit not to go running around to different bars at whim. Not that she could say that to the President in that second. It wouldn't be beneficial to either of them.

Instead, she favored a more cautious approach, "Do you not think that might have been a good idea?"

He didn't speak for a long time, and when he eventually responded, it was slowly, hesitantly, "There were so many in the beginning, all fairly innocuous, it barely seemed worth worrying her, and then, as time past, things escalated, I just wanted to protect her." He sighed, "And a damn fine job I've done of that now."

CJ got to her feet and moved to his side, laying a hand on his shoulder, "Sir, they'll find her." She said, hoping she sounded more confident than she sounded.

He glanced over at the file, no doubt thinking about the contents of the most recent letter, a broken expression on his face "Even if that's the case Claudia-Jean, what state will she be in when they do?"

X X X


	6. Chapter 6

"Where to now?" Ed asked hesitantly as he stepped back into Briana's cubicle, watching as she slowly and obviously painfully got up from the bed and reached for her jacket.

She looked at him, clearly surprised by his presence. He'd left her some time before, to allow her to be debriefed by another agent, and then discharged by her doctor, in private. She'd assumed that he'd have been out of there in a shot, faux sympathy long forgotten, fired up and off in search of his prize, the golden ticket he needed to land her job.

Abbey.

And yet...

"Brianna?" He moved to her side, taking the jacket from her and helping her slip it on, "Where are you headed? Where do you want to go?"

"What's it to you?" She knew the response was catty, both in tone and content, but yet she couldn't help it. In spite of the initial thaw between them when he'd first turned up at the hospital, she was still embarrassed by what had happened, and to her he was just a nasty reminder of everything she'd done wrong that evening.

That said, he ignored her nastiness, instead smiling at her sadly, "We're partners Brianna, new partners but partners all the same. And I don't really know you, but I'd hazard a guess that there's no husband, no boyfriend, no family. You're a good agent, and good agents don't have those things. Good agents are married to the job."

His assessment, damning in part, complimentary in others, was nothing if not completely accurate. Her family were back on the West Coast, and that was where she liked them, where she could ring them infrequently and visit even less; and the closest thing she had to a boyfriend was her loyal and faithful tabby cat.

"I have a cat." She murmured, "Bert."

Ed laughed slightly, "Bert eh? Well, for all Bert has a very human name, I suspect he doesn't have very human talents, like being able to drive for one. And you can't drive, not tonight." He took her hand and led her towards the door, "Come on. I'll take you home."

She shook her head stubbornly, wincing as a searing pain shot down her neck and spine, "I'm not going home. You can still drive me though, if you don't mind."

He sighed, pre-empting her next request, "Drinking it away isn't the answer Brianna, and haven't you seen enough seedy bars for one night?"

Again, she shook her head, although more gently after the agony of the previous occasion, "That's not where I want to go. I want to see the President."

Ed grimaced, even less keen on her actual plan than his assumed one. He could only imagine what kind of reception she'd get but knew there was little hope of it being good, "Brianna, it's not a good idea. Not tonight."

Although she'd had the stuffing knocked out of her, there was still enough gritty determination in her not to let it go. She wasn't prepared to. Not on the say so of him or anyone else.

"Forget it Ed. I don't care if I have to walk there. I'm going to the White House."

X X X

CJ had to get out of the Oval Office, as much for her own sanity as anything else. Plus there was the small matter of having run out of platitudes to use to reassure the President. He didn't believe them anymore than she did.

And so, she'd left him in Charlie's capable hands, and headed over to the briefing room, to see how Toby was getting on. She found Josh and Donna stood just outside, watching his briefing on a monitor, concerned expressions on their faces.

"How's he doing?" She asked, somewhat dreading the answer.

Josh smiled weakly and then moved closer to the monitor, running his finger down the side of Toby's forehead on the screen, "See here. This is a blood vessel about to burst."

CJ groaned, her heart plummeting further still, "That bad?"

"Worse." Donna confirmed, "You know the guy from The Trib, the one with the bad hairpiece and worse glasses?" She continued as CJ nodded, recognising the description, "Well he keeps pushing some ridiculous stalker angle. Toby's running out of ways to deny it. I mean where do they get this stuff CJ?"

There was a lengthy silence as CJ debated whether she could make some denials of her own, before realising there was no point. Not if the story was out there.

"It's not ridiculous." She stared at the ground as she said it, feeling incredibly guilty that she'd sent Toby out in front of the press corp before they were all fully aware of the facts. She'd been there in the past enough times herself to know how terrible it was.

She didn't have chance to feel guilty for long though, before she found herself on the receiving end of a barrage of questions.

"It's not ridiculous? This is a stalker thing? It's all true? The roses? The letters? The South Portico?"

She sighed, "Yes Josh, its all true." She opened her mouth to explain that she'd only just found out herself, but didn't have chance before Toby stormed out of the briefing room, his face an interesting shade of puce, and with Annabeth in tow desperately trying to placate him.

Openly furious and clearly not caring who knew it, he finally exploded, "Those people are insane! The idiot from The Tribune is insane!"

"The idiot from The Tribune was telling the truth." Josh piped up, earning himself a black look from CJ who would have much preferred to tell Toby in her own time.

Some time in the next millennium for example.

With the cat out of the bag Toby rounded on CJ furiously, "YOU KNEW? Well you might have said. It's hard enough out there without by blindsided."

Any other time CJ might have taken the criticism on the chin and let it go, but as it was, and already tense and stressed, she exploded too.

"You reckon? Remember Kashmir! I do!"

"Oh God." Josh stepped behind Donna, wanting protection from the war he suspected was about to erupt. Luckily for him, and indeed them all, however, a new arrival put pay to it.

"Let's just take a deep breath shall we?"

They turned, almost in unison, to find Leo stood in the doorway, and it didn't escape any of their attentions that he'd aged to an extent they'd never have imagined. Yes, his heart attack had taken its toll, they knew that, but this was something else entirely. The First Lady's abduction had obviously hit him hard too.

That said, when he spoke he was still the man they'd all long admired; Calm, controlled, and the perfect person to have there in a crisis.

"You're all scared. You're all upset. Don't take it out on each other." He glanced at CJ reprovingly, "Kashmir was a long time ago. Now tell Toby the real reason he shouldn't be angry with you."

CJ looked over at Toby, and shrugged, "I didn't know. Not until just now."

Toby's eyes widened, "You're Chief of Staff." He said disbelievingly, "How could you not know?"

It was Leo than answered, "She's Chief of Staff to a very old fashioned President. Lets leave it at that OK?" He glanced over at CJ who, with the fury knocked out of her was struggling to hold back tears, "Claudia Jean, could you brief me, tell me what you'd like me to do."

She nodded, but didn't speak, scared that the tears would completely consume her if she did so. Seeing that, Leo took control once again.

"Your office then yes?"

Another nod, and then finally she managed to speak, looking over at Toby as she did so, "Senior staff in 20 minutes ok? And Toby, I'm sorry…"

X X X

In the security of her office, she quickly fell apart, as she finally allowed her tears to flow. Leo said nothing as she cried, just sat beside her, providing support merely with his presence, and it was only when she was calm again that he finally spoke.

"You needed that?"

She smiled weakly, embarrassed after the fact, "I guess. I'm sorry."

He shook her apologies away, "Don't be. It's tough at the top. If anyone knows that, it's me." he said, before adding gently, "And Abbey's your friend."

CJ sighed, getting to her feet and reahing for a tissue from a box on her desk, so as to wipe her eyes. "Its just a lot to take in and," she thought back to her altercation with Toby, "Its caused me to doubt the job I'm doing, the faith I assumed the President had in me. Why the Hell didn't he tell me Leo?" She turned to face him, unable to keep the anger and resentment out of her voice, "He SHOULD have told me. He obviously told you."

Leo nodded, conceding the point, "It's true. But its not a reflection on your standing CJ; the President respects you, you know that. But what I told the others was true. He's an old fashioned type of guy. I need to have a word with him about that." He paused, and then cautiously continued, "He tell you why he was so keen to protect Abbey from this?"

CJ shook her head, her heart sinking further still as she realised that there was another layer; further evidence, that no matter what Leo said, indicated that the President didn't trust her. That Chief of Staff or no, she wasn't enjoying the standing Leo once had.

"I'll talk to him about that too." Leo said, "If you promise to cast aside your bruised ego and get on with doing your job. This isn't about you." He didn't give her chance to respond before he continued, and what he said put paid to anything she could have or would have said, "Years back, when Abbey was a Resident, she was molested by a patient. To say she didn't handle it well would be an understatement."

Stunned, CJ sank down into her chair, as the connotations of what she was being told hit home to her, "He thought it would frighten her, if she knew about the letters."

"He thought it would do a damn sight worse than that." Leo responded, "Did you ever notice that the First Lady has a scar across her left wrist? Did you ever question how it got there?"

"No." CJ spoke slowly, trying to process the information with a brain that was already overloaded with information, "No, I didn't. Are you saying…?" She faded out, finding the truth too difficult to speak outloud. Leo obviously felt the same, because when his response came, it was a nod, nothing more.

Somehow, CJ found, it was easier to deal with the news not as Abbey's friend, but as a staffer – as the Chief of Staff, as a former Press Secretary. "Surely a suicide attempt should have been disclosed. If anyone else got hold of this we've got the MS thing happening all over again."

"Yeah, well, we talked about it." Leo replied, "But it wasn't long after Ellie came into the world. We figured it could be written away as a symptom of Post Natal Depression and forgotten about."

She threw her hands up in the air, incredulous that a man of such experience could be so incredibly naïve, "How exactly do you think this can be forgotten? Do you not think that this is going to come out? If Abbey comes back," she blanched at her own words and quickly corrected herself as a result, "WHEN Abbey comes back, how do you think the electorate are going to cope with the First Lady dripping blood all over the White House carpets? Leo this is insane! Leo this is…"

"This is between Abbey and I." The words came not from Leo, but from the President who had entered the room during CJ's diatribe, a fact which had completely escaped her notice. He was leaning against the doorjamb, gripping it for support. If he was angry – CJ noted – it didn't show. Instead he just looked exhausted; and broken. "Abbey is my wife." He said gently, although over enunciating the 'is', as if to compensate for CJ's earlier mistake, "And I will get her through this." He turned his attention to Leo, "You shouldn't have told her."

"No Mr President," Leo said with a sigh, "you should have."


	7. Chapter 7

Leo's words hung in the air for a moment, stagnating in the space between the three of them and leaving the room in an awkward silence, only ended when the President slowly nodded and Leo got to his feet, moving towards the door.

"You need to talk." He glanced at CJ, "I'll go and see how the others are doing."

She smiled at him, appreciating what he'd done, the way he'd brought the truth out into the open, even if it meant that she had to deal with a difficult conversation as a direct consequence of it. She waited until he was clear of the room and then turned to the President.

"Sir, I'm sorry. I should never have referred to Abbey like that." She cleared her throat awkwardly, "In the past tense. It was wrong."

The President moved to sit beside her, "I have to believe she's coming back Claudia Jean; for Zoe, and Elizabeth, and Ellie." She noticed the way he missed himself out of the equation but understood. There were things that went without saying, and besides which, it was probably easier for him to be strong for his daughters than strong for himself.

"I know." She said softly, "And I am deeply, deeply sorry."

Second time round he shook her apologies away, "It's forgotten, and," he added, "I'm sorry too." He nodded in the direction of the doorway that Leo had just disappeared through, "Mr Grumpy Pants had a point. I should never have kept you in the dark."

"It's forgotten." She echoed his sentiment with her own, "Completely forgotten."

"I wish it was." He replied with a sigh, and she knew instantly that he wasn't referring to their issues, but to his wife's past. He looked at her, tears pricking his eyes, and suddenly she wasn't looking at the President but a friend; her best friend's husband; an ordinary man. "I can't go back to all that."

"All that?" She got to her feet, moving to her drinks cabinet and pouring him a drink. She was tempted to have one herself, but thought better of it. She was on duty. She needed to keep a clear head, especially if he wasn't going to have one, which was highly likely. "Do you want to talk about 'all that'?" It wasn't a question she'd usually have asked of him, but then he wasn't the 'him' she was so used to being around. Not at that second.

He took the drink from her, "Oh no. We don't talk about it Claudia Jean. Abigail doesn't like to talk about it. Doesn't like hearing it put into words. And if we do talk about it we don't put it into very sophisticated vocabulary. Generally we talk about 'the thing'." He paused and then offered her an explanation, "That's the suicide attempt in case you were wondering." He knocked back his drink in one and then continued, "And we talk about the man who 'touched' her. And you know what? I kind of like it that way." He was close to tears now, she could hear it in his voice, and so, in a way that seemed to uncharacteristic of their relationship, she sat down beside him, wrapping a comforting arm around his shoulder; an act he barely even seemed to notice.

"It's easier that way?" She asked gently. He nodded, "It's easier that way; because that way I don't have to reconcile my wife's faith with the fact that she tried to take her own life. I don't have to remember the way I quoted the Corinthians at her as she sat on bathroom floor in a blouse soaked in her own blood,"

"You quoted the Corinthians at her?" CJ couldn't help cutting in, incredulous that he'd have done such a thing. But then again as he'd often told her,

"There's a bible quotation for every occasion."

XXX

**29 Years Earlier**

**The Bartlet Family Home, New Hampshire**

"The Corinthians. Chapter 3, Verses 16 to 17; Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple."

The words rolled off his tongue easily; too easily really, considering the sight in front of him. He loved her, more than he'd ever loved anyone, but at that moment he was so angry with her he could virtually have killed her himself. Finished the job she'd just started. And better, he thought, to be angry at her with someone else's words than his own. If he told her how he was really feeling they might never recover from it; from the blame, from the recriminations. Better to hide behind the bigger things in life.

"That is the word of God Abigail; your God."

She pulled herself up from the heap on the floor that he'd found her in, clutching her bloodied arms to her chest and leaning against the side of the bath for support. She looked at him with cold dead eyes and spat some words of her own.

"The God who suggests a woman raped by a man should be forced to marry him?" She was weak, and it showed in the tone and volume of her voice, but it couldn't shield him from the hatred, the anger. Nor from what came next. "I can really see that working out for us can't you Josiah? Me marrying that bastard."

He opened his mouth to respond, to argue her reference, but she didn't give him the opportunity.

"Deuteronomy 22:28-29. I can out quote you any time you like. Any time you like." And with that she slumped forward again, her head hitting the bathroom tiles with a sickening thud that shocked him out of the bizarre place that had caused him to start quoting the bible in the first place. He fell to his knees beside her, pulling her into his arms so her body lolled back, resting against his chest as she stared up at him with dull and empty eyes. It was then that he noticed something significant, something that confirmed a fear that had gripped his heart from the moment he'd walked into the bathroom.

"You're not wearing your cross Abbey." He touched her bare neckline, tracing the route of the inconspicuously absent gold chain with his fingers. He'd never seen her without it before, "Have you lost it?"

She shook her head slowly, obviously weakening, "I've lost a lot of things Jed." Tears started to roll down her cheeks, "But not that."

XXX

"It was in the sink." Jed told CJ, staring down into his drink, "She'd ripped it clear off of her neck, and then taken a razor to her wrists." He got to his feet pacing the room again, seeming to CJ like a caged animal, desperately in need of escape, as much from what was going on in his head as anything else she supposed. "She nearly lost everything because of one man. Her dignity, her confidence, her faith, her self respect and if it's happening again Claudia Jean, if that pervert is doing those things," he looked at her, tears in his eyes as they both recalled the threats in the letters, "I'm going to lose her. I'm going to lose my Abbey."

XXX

Respite. Brief respite.

He'd left her, presumably to go and eat if the rancid smell of deep fried food was anything to go by. It was turning her stomach. But then again, anything would have turned her stomach at that moment. Lobster Thermidor. Oregon White Cavier. Cristal Champagne.

She was trying to distract herself. Trying to think of the good things in life.

She was failing.

For a woman tied to a bed, naked, her legs spread, with the rough rope he'd used to bind her chaffing her skin 'thinking of the good things in life' was an impossible task. All she could think about was him, what he'd done, what he was going to do, and how the hell she was going to survive it.

"_I'll stay with you Abbey. I'll stay with you all night long. You can sleep in my arms."_

Even though he was gone, she could still feel the way he'd gently caressed her arms and back as he'd said it, the way Jed used to touch her, the way that had previously felt so good.

She doubted anything would ever feel that good again. She couldn't imagine ever being able to handle Jed's tender kisses or loving touch. How could she now, without thinking of him?

The thought had made her cry, sob even, more so than she had done up to that point. That was when he'd changed again, brought back the monster; grabbing her by the neck, screaming in her face, telling her to "shut the fuck up" as he brought his hands around her throat and started to squeeze.

She had been tempted to let him do it. He'd done everything else he could. Why not let him kill her too. But then she pictured Jed, and the girls and she knew she had to fight back. Find a way back to them. She got him off her in the only way she could.

"I love you." 3 words. 3 little words. More croaked than spoken, but they were what he wanted to hear, and more importantly, was crazy enough to believe.

3 little words that were now haunting her.

She just hoped that Jed would forgive her…

XXX


End file.
